Police believe weekend Sterling robberies part of a pattern

These sketches were made in February after a pair of robberies in Sterling. Loudoun County sheriffs believe they are related to a similar pair of assaults that happened in the early morning hours of Saturday. (Courtesy Loudoun County Sheriffs Office)

WASHINGTON — Two women were robbed, one sexually assaulted, in the early morning hours of Saturday in Sterling, and the police say they believe they may be part of a pattern.

The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office says that at around 5 a.m. Saturday, a 52-year-old woman was in Stanford Square, in the Remington Apartments complex, when a man knocked on the window of her car, opened the door, brandished a gun and demanded money.

He then allegedly ordered her out of the car, ordered her to take her pants off and sexually assaulted her. When he heard the woman’s friend coming to help, the sheriff’s office said, the man ran off.

A half-hour later, a 62-year-old woman was found injured about two miles away, on East Severn Way.

They say she was approached by a man who tried to grab her purse and, after a struggle, hit her with what the woman described as a gun. The man ran away with the purse.

In both cases, the suspect was described as wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt and sunglasses, with the hood pulled up over his head to conceal his face.

ABC7 reports that officials are investigating whether the attacks are linked to others in the area dating back to February. NBC4 reports that sheriffs say similar attacks occurred in December.

See a report from ABC7:

Anyone with any information is asked to call the sheriff’s office at 703-777-0475. If you want to remain anonymous, call Loudoun Crime Solvers at 703-777-1919. If the information provided to Loudoun Crime Solvers leads to an arrest and indictment, the caller could be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000.